US Bank Cash + Restaurants category downgraded to 2% next quarter...

[longtimelurker]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@wiivile wrote:

I feel bait-and-switched. It's things like this that make me afraid to sign up for new credit cards.

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Terms can change per the agreement so there's no bait and switch.  Don't rely just on advertising and read and understand your terms.  Don't assume that anything -- not just rewards -- will be offered indefinitely.

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Right, but that's sort of not very actionable, and that's what Wilvile meant.   Any time you sign up for a card,  it could change everything tomorrow, so how can you choose sensibly?

The reality is that cards change "fairly" rarely, and so you can use history to guess which are most likely to change, whether feature-wise (easy to get uncapped cashback at 5% is unlikely to last) or issuers/cards (Citi often nerfs, US Bank still seems very nervous with Cash Plus etc)

[Involver]

i'll keep this up for a few minutes 

* link removed *

the $134 spend gets credit for a 1% reward and then 4% for being category spend.  an additional bonus follows later in the month for the same amount.  this happens on a monthly basis to both of my 5% spend categories (the other values are blocked by the red boxes, but you get the point).

[longtimelurker]

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@Involver wrote:

i'll keep this up for a few minutes 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Involver/Untitled2_zps7733aea6.jpg

the $134 spend gets credit for a 1% reward and then 4% for being category spend.  an additional bonus follows later in the month for the same amount.  this happens on a monthly basis to both of my 5% spend categories (the other values are blocked by the red boxes, but you get the point).

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Do the amounts add up?  Because mine looks a little like that, with the 2%/5% Cash + Categories   items being subtotals rather than new items.  So did the rewards you actually get include 2 of those $5.36 for example

[Involver]

Yes, when I total my rewards listed on my history they add up to my current rewards balance.

[Brax]

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@Involver wrote:

Yes, when I total my rewards listed on my history they add up to my current rewards balance.

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I would go off the statement to know for sure.

Once I went over the cap and the rewards center led me to believe I was still earning 5% back. After I broke down what the statement actually payed out, only then was I completely sure the 5% halted at $2,000 in spend.

[wiivile]

Mine does the same thing regarding showing the bonus twice, but on the actual statement, it only adds up to me getting the 5% bonus once.

[Involver]

Damn. Just checked the statement and it only credited it once. Figured it was too good to be true.

[enharu]

This is by far the best 5% category for me.

However, ever since the cap was implemented, I've used this card solely for Amazon purchases, since there are other cards that offer bonus points on dining and I can easily spend 2k on Amazon purchases every 3 months. As such, I don't even bring this card out anymore.

If they do decide to remove the bookstore category, then I will definitely be cancelling this card.

It's still a nice card, especially for one with no annual fee. 

[wiivile]

I think the question we all have to ask ourselves with regard to this card is:

Do you think U.S. Bank intentionally pulled a bait-and-switch by introducing the card with such wild rewards (uncapped 5% on airfare, hotels, bill pay, restaurants, etc), and slowly nerfing it over the course of a couple years by adding caps and replacing lucrative bonus categories with less-than-appetizing ones? Or did they just not realize how much the card could be taken advantage of?

If it's the former, I'm pretty angry, and consider this to be something, if it continues among credit card issuers, that needs to be regulated. If it was an honest mistake on their part in not realizing how lucrative the card could be for consumers, then whatever.

But all-in-all, I'm tired of having a sock drawer of once-lucrative cards that have been nerfed.

[MrFlower]

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@wiivile wrote:

I think the question we all have to ask ourselves with regard to this card is:

Do you think U.S. Bank intentionally pulled a bait-and-switch by introducing the card with such wild rewards (uncapped 5% on airfare, hotels, bill pay, restaurants, etc), and slowly nerfing it over the course of a couple years by adding caps and replacing lucrative bonus categories with less-than-appetizing ones? Or did they just not realize how much the card could be taken advantage of?

If it's the former, I'm pretty angry, and consider this to be something, if it continues among credit card issuers, that needs to be regulated. If it was an honest mistake on their part in not realizing how lucrative the card could be for consumers, then whatever.

But all-in-all, I'm tired of having a sock drawer of once-lucrative cards that have been nerfed.

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I don't think it was always inteneded. They just aren't getting the right mix of users to sustain it.

I think the big issue is it isn't up for online applications or even easy access to mail in.

They limited their user base to people walking into branches and people who browse myfico and alterntive sites that know to call.

The issue with this is most myfico/other site users aren't balance carrying users.

I also have not seen anyone report that they do broad market direct mailers. They probally target exsisitng usbank account holders but not like chase/citi and others who pull exp and the likes for large lsits.

I assume they break even or make a little at 2% categorries. I assume on 5% categories they are losing 2-3%. If allmost all users are transactors this will be an issue and I only seeing it becoming more of an issue. They need to increase the mix of transactors to revolvers or this card will continue to be nerfed.

(I could see a requirement to deposit into a usbank account to get the full being done or something like that to increase overall atributal margins.)